1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to magnet arrays that are used to deliver magnetic therapeutic fields to tissue in plants and animals. In particular a plurality of discrete shaped magnetic elements can be combined to form a single magnet array comprising discrete magnetic zones which may be of like polarity or mixed polarity. The overall polarization of the single magnet array can be varied by positioning the poles of each of the magnetic elements to be either North or South. Thus to obtain like polarity in the magnet array the polarity of each of the magnetic elements that comprise the array would be positioned to either North or South. Another embodiment according to the present invention comprises moats or spacer elements of non-magnetic material positioned in between each of the magnetic elements that comprise the magnet array.
2. Description of Related Art
Curative, and also prophylactic, magnetic field treatment is well known in the art. For example, it is known that magnetic bands covering the lower back can be effective in reducing pain originating in the lower back, and that a magnetic bracelet worn on the wrist can reduce pain or stiffness originating in the wrist. It is also known that the application of magnetic devices directly to the site of other painful body parts such as elbows or ankles can reduce pain in those parts. These known methods all typically involve the use of permanent magnets.
Many patents have been issued for therapeutic magnets including patents for concentric circle magnetic patterns impressed into flexible magnet material by relatively simple methods using permanent magnet fixtures or electrical discharge magnetizing fixtures. The resultant magnets typically have residual magnetic fields of 750 Gauss to 3,000 Gauss and can be created in a field of under 10,000 Gauss, which is achievable with neodymium or other high power permanent magnet fixtures. The problem with that method is that the power required to magnetize a concentrically arranged high power permanent magnet such as neodymium iron boron is too high.
Monolithic composite high power “Hard” magnet concentric patterns are difficult to achieve, because it is not practical using current technology to impress concentric magnetic zones of opposite polarity onto a wafer of homogeneous high power magnet material such as neodymium iron boron. Nominally 40,000 Gauss is required to coerce the field in neodymium. Additionally once a particular polarization pattern is impressed onto a wafer that polarization pattern can only be modified by subjecting the wafer to the same process that was used to originally impress the magnetic zones onto it.
Some practitioners believe that one magnetic pole has a different therapeutic effect than the other. For example some practitioners prefer to use a magnetic array having an all North polarization when treating a given condition. A technical obstacle present when constructing concentric patterns of a multi-element single pole array using high power permanent magnets is that magnetic disks of like polarity in the same plane mutually repel each other.
Thus a need exists for a high power permanent magnet device that can be configured into concentric patterns of either like or mixed polarities and an efficient way to construct concentric patterns with permanent high power magnets regardless of like or mixed polarity magnetic distribution.